Monday, 10 August 2015

7 TIPS ON HOW TO ACE THAT PHONE INTERVIEW

I have a phone interview...what now?

First of all - great job! This is
amazing news!

How can you make sure that
everything goes as you want it to go? The short answer is: You
can't. The long one? You can make sure that you limit all the
things that can potentially go wrong and know exactly what you want
to say, what you want to ask about and what kind of impression do you
want to make. Then, you basically keep your fingers crossed and try
your best to sound like a capable and amazing person that you are.

Now, the things that you can control
during your phone interview are:

1. WHEN YOU TAKE THE CALL

This one is really important, so
please try to remember about it. You don't want to talk to a
recruiter right after you wake up (because sounding sleepy and a bit
spaced out is just not good) and you don't want to do that when you
are tired (because you will sound either bored or angry and you will
definitely not focus on the call that well). When scheduling your
phone interview be mindful of which time of the day you are free,
relaxed and generally in good shape.

2. WHERE YOU TAKE THE CALL

Again, this one is important and
really basic. You need to make sure that when you will take the call
you will be in a quiet place, uninterrupted and not bothered by
anyone. If you can do this at home – great. If you can't... You can
risk taking this call at a meeting room at work, but I would strongly
advise against it. It's just not good this way (and you definitely
don't want to use your company's phone or be caught by your boss
talking to a recruiter). Try and go to the park, maybe a quiet cafe
if you know one. You can also try and take this call in your car if
possible. In any case – relax and think for a while before you
choose the right place.

3. IF YOU WILL HAVE
TABLET/LAPTOP/YOUR CV/ JOB SPEC/ NOTES WITH YOU

Since the recruiter won't see you,
you can have as many open documents or websites as you like. This is
a great thing, but do not go crazy with it. It's a good thing to have
your CV prepared (with notes about specific things that you may want
to talk about), the job spec (because you will be able to link your
experience with requirements that the company wants you to meet) and
some notes (if you did your homework and researched the company, you
should have some key points on a separate piece of paper – same
goes for some of the most common interview questions that you shold
prepare for beforehand).

4. WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO ATTEND
THE FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW

You should prepare some dates and
times for when you are free to attend the face to face interview.
Why? Because if everything goes well (and I am keeping my fingers
crossed for you) it really makes a good impression if the candidate
knows his/hers schedule. It's way better than hearing the candidate
panic and frantically go through their calendar.

5. YOUR HOMEWORK - WHAT DO YOU KNOW
ABOUT THE COMPANY/POSITION YOU APPLIED FOR/MOST COMMON JOB INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS

This one is simple – the better
you prepare, the bigger chances you have to get the job. You should
roughly know what do you want to say, how you will respond to
questions about your skills and background, what the company does and
what the role they contacted you about is. This research will help
you relax and feel comfortable during the call. You are prepared -
you got this!

6. QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO ASK

The recruiter will always ask if you
have any questions, so be sure to prepare a list of 2 – 3 things
that you would like to know. Whether this is about a team that you
will work with, type of contract or when the final list of candidates
will be drafted. What are you curious about?

7. YOUR VOICE

Relax, stay calm, don't giggle,
don't pause for more than 10 seconds or repeat random words. This may
be a little bit stressful (as every interview can be), but to be
honest – this is just a more formal phone conversation. You will be
asked questions, give some answers and get to ask questions of your
own – simple and easy.

Things that you can't control:
…there are many and you can't really do much about them, so – go
prepare for your phone interview and stop worrying!